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Ah, the evolution of man. As every new generation comes along it seems as though we morph into a new “elevated” being that is more in touch with its inner self and that of all fellow man. The guardians of our collective consciousness are at the gate and are doing their best to prevent what they don’t like from getting in.
It seems like every group of people with an axe to grind pertaining to their personal agenda wield that axe with deadly force should you not agree with their point of view. Well maybe not deadly force but at the very least give you a few well-placed whacks just as a reminder that they are out there.
They do it under the ruse of protecting the collective masses of the groups they represent. To act as a shield against the slings and arrows of those who actually have the audacity to say what they think or attempt to entertain you with something slightly different from the norm.
For decades in life and in every form of entertainment, people were applauded for “pushing the envelope”. Today everyone has to think twice before putting pen to paper or turning on a movie camera for fear of offending the easily offended. Some peoples’ skins have become so thin that they are transparent.
Every time two people get together and share the same idea they form a coalition to protect their perceived rights. That or anybody with a computer and Internet access and enough time to sit down and blog their brains out with every little thought that crosses their minds. Those guys are like a pack of attack dogs with the ability to type. Sure, there are the ones who post positive blogs, but we generally don’t hear about those. Only the negative ones generally make the news, if you can call that news.
Thank god back in the early days of animation Walt Disney didn’t have to deal with this kind of nonsense. Otherwise we may never have seen his first cartoon “Steamboat Willie Starring Mickey Mouse” because the “Coalition For The Ethical Treatment of Mice” would have objected to it.
He probably would have faced a lawsuit when “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” came out. Groups of angry little people would have been picketing theatres and boycotting the movie, making unreasonable demands without ever having seen the film.
I’m sure that at the top of the list of their demands would have been the re-naming of the film to “Snow White and the Vertically Challenged”. They would also want the character of “Dopey” eliminated because he portrayed little people as stupid or as a drug addict. This despite the fact that one of the other “vertically challenged” characters was a doctor.
If you think that this is far fetched when placed in the context of the modern mindset, then consider what has recently transpired since the commercials on the Super Bowl aired. First, there was the complaints about how violent some of the commercials were, for example the Budweiser commercial with two guys playing “Rock, Paper, Scissors” with one of them throwing a rock at the other one in order to win a beer.
Then came the most ludicrous complaint from the “Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation” about a Snickers candy bar commercial. Just in case you missed it, the spot featured two male car mechanics working over the engine of the same car. One pulls out a whole Snickers bar and sticks it in his mouth. The other, seeing the candy bar, starts eating it from the opposite end. Picture the spaghetti-eating scene in the movie “Lady and The Tramp”. And just like in that famous scene it ends up the same way with the two participants kissing.
Had the scene ended there the members of GLAAD would have stood up and cheered, unfortunately for Snickers their characters did not look at one another with love in their eyes. No, they chose to attempt to defend their masculinity by doing the manly act of pulling masses of their chest hair out in clumps.
GLAAD deemed this homophobic, complained loudly, and Snickers crumpled like a candy wrapper and pulled the ad. Hurtful and homophobic or silly and funny? You decide. And I’m surprised that nobody complained to Disney about “Lady and The Tramp”. Dogs kissing on screen indeed, there ought to be a law!
Finally, what is wrong with all of these people who are, after six seasons, complaining about the treatment of the “singers” trying out for American Idol? Talk about people with thin skins and bleeding hearts. Is this the first time they have seen this show?
This is not to say that I am endorsing or recommending anybody to watch American Idol. I watch because, well, because my wife watches it and I can either be with her or exile myself to another part of the house. I do know, at least for me, these tryouts are the best part of the entire season.
Why? Well first I truly appreciate the venomous Simon Cowell’s brutal honesty towards the talentless contestants. He doesn’t suffer fools and those who waste his time gladly. I personally don’t either, so to have someone who has the balls to say what he is thinking without having to hear about it, until now that is, is refreshing.
The people and contestants who are now becoming vocal about his tactics are equally stupid, or should I say mentally challenged. Nobody is holding a gun to theses contestants’ heads and forcing them to try out. The ones who become so indignant or reduced to tears at his blunt critique should really invest in a tape recorder before they go to try out. The ones he lays into deserve it due to the mere fact that they suck. Oh I am sorry, vocally challenged.
The behavior of his co-judges, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson, and their reactions and laughter towards some contestants are justified as well. If you have watched this show and not had the same look of horror or humor on your face you’re probably the same people that bought the album by William Hung, the poster boy for the worst of American Idol.
As to those people who are watching at home who think Simon is being rude have to be as tone deaf as the contestants. My suggestion to them is if you don’t like what Cowell, Abdul, and Jackson have to say or the way that they react, DON’T WATCH! Just like the contestants, nobody is forcing you to watch. Shut off your TV set or get some thicker skin.
I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before I get letters from the “Coalition For The Pigmently Impaired”.
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